Well-cleaning device.



W. E. MINTON.

WELL CLEANING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 17. 1918.

Patented Mar. 19, 1918.

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ATTORNEY- WILLIAM E. MINT ON, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

WELL-CLEANING DEVICE.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. to, rare.

Application filed January 17, 1918. Serial No. 212,347.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. MINTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson, State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Nell-Cleaning De- Z ces, of which the following is a' specificaion.

The present invention relates to pumping apparatus and aims to provide an improved. means for cleaning away the sand, shale, paraflin and other material which collects at the bottom of the well around the end of the'pump tube,particularly in oil well pumping. One of the principal objects of the invention, therefore, is to devise a con struction adapted to utilize a flow of liquid for washing out the deposits of material which collect at the points referred to, and thus afford room for the oil or liquid being pumped to flow into the bottom of the pump. Where a sand screen or strainer is used at the lower end of the well casing, it is also sought to provide a device which will thoroughly wash and clean both the inner and outer faces of this screen or strainer. A still further object is to utilize a liquid flow for cleaning out the sand and other material in such a manner that the deposits of such material will be carried on up out of the well by means of the flow of liquid thus established.

Minor objects will appear in the course of the detailed description. I

With these general objects in view, the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing illustrating one form of construction which has been devised for embodying the improvements, after which the novel features thereof will be set forth and defined in the claims appended hereto.

In the drawing- Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of the lower end portion of a pumping apparatus with the resent improvements applied thereto; and

Figs. 2 and 3 are transverse sections taken oFn the lines 22 and 3-3, respectively, of

Referring to the drawing in detail, this shows the lower end portlon 4 of a well casing, to which may be connected a perforated sand screen or strainer casing '6, as by means of a coupling 8, as illustrated in Fig. 1. Within the casing 4 is shown the lower end portion of the pump tubing 10, to which is connected, as by. a coupling 12, a short tubular nozzle section 14 terminating in a central discharge opening 16 above the bottom of the screen or strainer 6, the lower tapered portion of said nozzle section 14 having the lateral but downwardly inclined discharge slits 18 located above said opening 16 and facing at right angles to the lower tapered portion of the screen 6.

Above the slits 18 the cylindrical portion of the nozzle section 14 is formed with a series of discharge slits 20 adapted to discharge outward at right angles to the cylindrical portion of the screen 6. Intermediate the discharge slits 18 and 20, the nozzle section 14 is formed with an exterior annular shoulder 22 against which is fitted a scraper member comprising an inner ring-shaped portion 24 adapted to be clamped against said shoulder 22 by means of a collar 26, and also comprising a series of outwardly extending flexible wings 28 (see Fig. 3) adapted to scrape the inner face of the cylindrical portion of the screen 6. This scraper member may be stamped out of thin sheet metal, leaving open spaces3O (see Fig. 3) between the several wings 28 for the passage of the liquid flow between the screenand nozzle members.

Above the discharge slits 20, the nozzle section 14 is also formed with an exterior annular shoulder 32 (similar to the shoulder 22) against which is fitted a rin 34 of any suitable packing material em raced be tween a pair of thin metal washers 36, one resting upon said shoulder 32 and the other adapted to be jammed against the cou ling 12 (on attachment of the nozzle section for holding the parts in the position shown in Fi 1.

l n the operation of the device, water or other suitable liquid is forced down through the pump tubing 10, and thereby ejected in forcible ets out through the discharge opening 16 and the various slits 18 and 20, thus flooding and thoroughly washing the inner face of the screen or strainer 6. When the packing 34 is used, the passage up between the screen and nozzle members is of course cut off, and the flow is obliged to pass outside the screen to reach the level above said packing before it can again-enter the space within the well casing by wayof the perforations in the upper end of the screen. By means of the liquid flow thus established outside the screen, the outer face of the latter is thoroughly washed, and the deposits of material outside the screen are loosened up and gradually conveyed out along with the flow of liquid to the top of the well. For further cleaning the inner face of the screen, the pump tubing 10 may be raised and lowered in order to impart a reciprocatory movement to the scraper elements, thereby scouring the screens inner face and clearing it of paraffin, shale or other clogging material,in which action the packing inaterial also cooperates in rubbing away the clinging deposits. In case, however, the screen or strainer is not being used, as is the casein some operations, the scraper elements may nevertheless be operated in this manner to loosen up the deposits around the nozzle member, thereby further increasing.

the effectiveness of the liquid flow as above described.

It will thus be apparent that a simple and efficient arrangement and construction have been devised for carrying out the desired objects of the invention, and while the foregoing illustrates what is now regarded as the preferred form of construction for embodying the improvements, the right is reserved to such formal changes or modifications as may fairly fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A well cleaning device comprising, in combination with the pump tube, a nozzle section adapted to be secured to said pump tube, and a series of flexible scraper elements carried by said nozzle section.

2. A well cleaning device comprising, in combination with the pump tube, a screen member surrounding the lower end portion of said tube, a nozzle section adapted to be secured to the end of said pump tube, said nozzle section being provided with a series of lateral discharge passages, and packing material interposed between said screen and nozzle section above said discharge passages and below the upper end of said screen.

3. A well cleaning device comprising, in combination with the pump tube, a screen member surrounding the lower end portion of said tube, a nozzle section adapted to be secured to the end of said pump tube, and scraper elements carried by said nozzle section and extending into scraping engage- Eleni] with the inner face of said screen mem- 4. A Well cleaning device comprising, in combination with the pump tube, a screen member surrounding the lower end portion of said tube, a nozzle section adapted to be secured to the end of said pump tube, said nozzle section being provided with a series of lateral discharge passages, packing material interposed between said screen and nozzle section above said discharge passages and below the upper end of the screen member, and scraper elements carried by said nozzle section and extending into scraping engagement with the inner face of said screen member.

In witness whereof I afiix my signature.

WILLIAM E. MINTON. 

